Yakut director for knitting machines



July 3, 1928. 1,675,627

J. A. WILLARD YARN DIRECTOR FOR KNITTING IACHINES Filed A hl 14, 12527 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I I g wenfoi J. A. WILLARD YARN DIRECTOR FOR KNITTING MACHINES 7 Filed April 14, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 3, 1928.

UNITED STATES JAMES A. WILLARD, OF GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA.

YARN DIRECTOR FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

Application filed April 14, 1927.

manipulation of the yarn feeding fingers different types and colors of yarn are fed to the needles, and when there is a change made in the color of the yarn supplied to the needles or in changing from straight knitting to the heel or toe, certain yarn guides are raised out of communication with the needles, and when the yarn guides are raised the yarn becomes slackened and will fall over and become entangled inanother strand of yarn and the triple strand of yarn willthen be drawn to the needles and defects in the knitted article will result. I 1

It isan object of my invention to provide means for directing the yarn to the yarn feeding fingers in such a manner as to prevent the different threads of yarn from becoming entangled with-each other.

Some of the objects ofmy invention having been stated, a brief description of the different figures of the drawings will now be given'in which Figure 1 is a cross sectional view through a portion of a knitting machine, showing the yarn guides, and showing my yarn directing means attached to the machine;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a. modified form of my invention showing the yarn directing members individually secured in position;

Figure 3 is a plan View of Figure 2 with the yarn directors and the fastening means therefor removed; I a I Figure 4 is aside elevation of the structure shown in Figure 2; I

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view taken along the line in Figure 3;

Figure 6 is an enlarged View of one of the yarn directing tubes and the ball associated therewith;

Figure 7 is a cross sectional View of one of the yarn directors secured in position between the upper and lower plates;

Serial No. 183,794.

Figure 8is an enlarged view of one of the yarn directors partly in cross section showing the directing meansmade of a. coil spring.

Referring more particularly to the drawings in Figure 1 I have shown the upper portion of a circular knitting machine of one of,

the standard makes which has the standard 10 thrust bar 11, and cam 12, the latchguard rlng pivot 13, the latclrring finger springs 14, the latehguard ring 15, the latch ring yarn director screws 16, the yarn guides 17 and 18, the throat plate 19, the web holder 20, the rotary needle cylinder 21, the web holder bed 22, the cam 23, and the yarn finger p-in'24.

.These parts which have been enumerated are the conventional parts and are not a part of my invention, hence a further description of the same is not deemed necessary.

To the latch guard ring 15 I secure the plate 25 by means of the screw 16 which proects outwardly over the yarn guides 17 and 18. In Figure l, I have shown only two yarn guides, but I desire tobe understood thatmy yarn directing means may be used with a machine having any given number of yarn uides. This plate 25 has a plurality of ho cs 26, which are semispherical in contour with their poles flattened as is clear in Figure 5. Into these holes 26 I drop a plurality of tubes 27, 28, 29, 30, 81, and 32. These tubes pierce balls such as 33, and are rigidly secured in these balls. These balls such as 33 rest in the holes 26, 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38, and fitting over these balls are the smaller plates 39, 40, 41, 43, 43, and 44. Holes 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, and 50 are drilled in the plate 25,. and are interiorly threaded to receive theybolts 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, and 56, which bolts pierce the smaller ends of the plates which holds the balls in place. These plates 39 to 44 have semispherical cavities with their poles flattened similar to the cavity 26 shown in Figure These semispherical cavities fit over the upper portions of the balls as shown in Figures 2 and 4.

If desired, instead of using the individual plates for adjusting and holding the balls on the yarn directing tubes in place, I can use a unitary plate which is secured to the plate 25 by means of the bolts 61 and 62, but

the advantage of the individual plate is that one of the plates may be loosened and the angle of the yarn directing tube adjusted without interfering with the adjustment of any of the other yarn directing tubes. In

Hill

I find it preferable to have the plates 25,

60, 39 to 44 made otfibre rubber or other suitable material which will have some resiliency thereto to prevent the porcelain balls from being broken.

In Figure 8, I have shown the ball 33 made of steel with a hole (33 therethrough, which hole is enlarged at its lower end, and

in the enlarged portion there is secured by welding or other suitable means the coil spring ill, and when this coil spring is used, the yarn directing means may extend into closer proximity to the yarn guides without interfering with the operation of the yarn gn ides. I

Ihe interior oi the tubes can be seen in Figure 2, such as is indicated by the numeral '65. The thread (56 is received from the tensioning means oi the knitting ma-v chine and runs through the yarn directing means to the eye (37 in the yarn guides.

It is thus seen that I have devised means for directing yarn to the yarn guides in knitting machines so as to prevent the yarn "from inter-mingling when a change occurs in the knitting process, and one in which it is practically impossible for a machine so equipped to produce seconds due to this common occurrence of the yarn becoming en tangled with other strands of yarn and drawing both strands through the wrong yarn guide.

In the drawings and specification I have set forth a preferred embodiment of my invention, and altho specific terms are used, they are umd in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A yarn directing device for knitting machines adapted to be secured above the yarn changers, comprising a plate having a plurality of bowl-shaped perforations therein, balls adapted to rest in the bowlshaped holes, a hole through the balls, a tube secured to the lower portion of the balls and extending downwardly, a plate having inverted bowl-shaped holes therein and being adapted to lit over the balls and having means for being adjustably secured to the lower plate.

2. In .a knitting machine, means for insuring an uninterrupted and unaccompanied travel of each strand of yarn to the yarn changing fingers, said means comprising a plurality of tubes, said tubes being pivotally secured at their upper ends to a plate and being capable of being swung laterally in any direction.

In a knitting machine, means for individually receiving the strands and guiding them to the eyes of the yarn, changing devices, said means comprising a plurality ol tubes pivoted at their upper ends for universal lateral movement, and being capable of being adjusted in any desired position.

l. A yarn directing device for knitting machines, comprising a plurality of downwardly projecting laterally adjustable hollow members through which the yarn is adapted to pass on its way .to the yarn teeding means, said hollow members being adapted to be independently adjusted in any desired position to deliver the yarn to the proper yarn changing device.

5. In a knitting machine, means for directing the yarn into close proximitv with the eyes of. the yarn feeding device, said means comprising a plate, bowl-shaped cavities in the upper side of the plate, a hole in the bottom of each bowl-shaped cavity, tubes adapted to lit into said hole, a ball 011 the upper end of the tubes, a plate having an inverted bowl-shaped cavity therein adjusted to lit over the upper side of said ball, means for securing the last named plate to the first plate to hold the tubes in adjusted position.

1 (3. In a knitting machine a horizontally disposed member secured to the latch guard ring and having a plurality of bowl-shaped holes therein, a plurality of tubes having a ball secured around their upper end and adapted to lit into thebowl-shaped holes individual means for applying pressure to the upper face of the balls to hold the tubes in adjusted position. v

7. In a knitting machine, a plate secured to the latch guard ring, a plurality of holes in said plate, a plurality of vertically disposed tubes mounted in said holes, the lower ends of the tubes being adapted to project into close proximity with the yarn changing devices, a ball secured to the upper ends of the tubes, means for securing the tubes to said plate to allow universal lateral movement to the lower ends of the tubes, and means for adjusting the tubes after the same. have been swung to any desired position.

8. In a knitting machine, a plurality of vertically disposed and universally laterally adjustable tubes mounted in a plate secured to the latch. guard ring and means assoeiated with said plate for holding the'tubes in adjusted position.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JAMES A. WILLARD. 

